Freedom of religion at work: what may a Dutch employer restrict?

In the Netherlands your employer may not treat you less favourably because of your religion or belief. There is no statutory right to a prayer break, a prayer room or leave on a religious holiday, but your employer must assess every request individually and give reasons for a refusal. A neutral-looking rule that hits one religious group harder is only lawful if it serves a legitimate aim and is appropriate and necessary.

Freedom of religion at work is protected by Article 6 of the Dutch Constitution (Grondwet), Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Equal Treatment Act (Algemene wet gelijke behandeling, AWGB). Disputes about praying during working hours, fasting during Ramadan, headscarves and refusing to shake hands reach the subdistrict courts every year, and the outcome almost always turns on the quality of the employer’s assessment.

Below, our employment law team explains what the rules require, how the burden of proof works, and what employers and employees should check when a conflict arises.

What does freedom of religion at work protect?

It protects the freedom to hold a belief and the freedom to act on it. At work the second part matters most: prayer, fasting, rest days, dietary rules, religious dress and refusing certain acts on grounds of conscience.

The right is not unlimited. Article 9(2) ECHR allows restrictions that are prescribed by law and necessary in a democratic society. Between a private employer and an employee, that balancing mainly runs through the AWGB and the duty to act as a good employer (goed werkgeverschap) in Article 7:611 of the Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek, BW).

Courts do not judge whether a practice is theologically required. They ask whether the restriction was necessary and whether the employer first considered a workable alternative. Typical cases are a Muslim employee whose prayer times fall within the working day, a Jewish employee who cannot work from sunset on Friday, and a Sikh who wears a turban under a safety helmet.

Which laws govern religion at work?

The core rules are Article 6 of the Constitution, Article 9 ECHR, EU Directive 2000/78/EC and the AWGB, which implements that directive. You can rely on Article 9 ECHR directly before a Dutch court.

What does the Equal Treatment Act say?

Article 5 AWGB prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion in recruitment and selection, in entering into and ending an employment contract, in terms of employment, and in training and promotion. Article 1 AWGB defines direct and indirect discrimination, and Article 2 sets out when indirect discrimination can be objectively justified.

Article 8a AWGB prohibits disadvantaging anyone because they invoked the Act or helped someone who did. That protects an employee who complains from retaliation, and it is often the strongest point for an employee whose position deteriorates right after raising the issue.

Which working-time rules matter?

Article 2 of the Flexible Working Act (Wet flexibel werken, Wfw) gives an employee with at least 26 weeks of service the right to request a change in working hours, working times or place of work. Article 4:1a of the Working Hours Act (Arbeidstijdenwet) requires an employer to take the employee’s personal circumstances into account when setting work and rest patterns, as far as can reasonably be required. Religious obligations fall within that wording.

Where does the AWGB not apply?

Article 3 AWGB places relationships within religious denominations and the spiritual ministry outside its scope. Article 5(2) AWGB also allows organisations founded on a religious or political basis to set requirements that are genuinely necessary in light of those founding principles. Public sector employers fall under the same framework and, in addition, under the Civil Servants Act 2017 (Ambtenarenwet 2017).

What is the difference between direct and indirect religious discrimination?

Direct discrimination is treatment expressly based on religion and cannot be justified. Indirect discrimination is a neutral rule that hits one religious group harder, and it is only lawful if the employer can justify it objectively.

Rejecting an applicant because she is Muslim or dismissing an employee because he wears a kippah is direct discrimination. Under the AWGB only the narrow statutory exceptions apply; house style, neutrality or what customers supposedly prefer do not save it.

A general ban on head coverings, a requirement that all staff work on Saturdays or a ban on face-covering clothing in client-facing roles can be indirect discrimination. Under Article 2 AWGB such a rule is only allowed if all three conditions are met:

• the measure pursues a legitimate aim, such as safety, hygiene or a genuine occupational requirement;
• the measure is appropriate to achieve that aim;
• the measure is necessary: no less restrictive alternative would achieve the same result.

The conditions are cumulative, and in practice the third one decides most cases.

What has the EU Court of Justice said about neutrality policies?

In Achbita (C-157/15) the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) accepted that a rule banning all visible political, philosophical and religious signs may pursue a legitimate aim. That only holds if the rule is applied generally and without distinction, and if the employer considered offering a post without visual contact with customers.

In WABE and MH Müller Handel (C-804/18 and C-341/19), the CJEU added that the employer must show a genuine need for such a policy and pursue it consistently and systematically. A rule that in practice only reaches the headscarf is not a neutrality policy but direct discrimination.

Can your employer refuse prayer during working hours?

There is no legal duty to grant prayer breaks, but your employer must assess the request on its merits and be able to justify a refusal. A refusal without reasons, or a dismissal after the request, carries a real risk of a discrimination finding.

A judgment of the subdistrict court of Noord-Holland (Zaanstad) of 26 September 2025 (ECLI:NL:RBNHO:2025:11085) shows how this works. A service technician was dismissed during his probationary period, four days after starting. The termination e-mail referred to his wish to pray once or twice a day in a separate space at client locations and to his religious objection to working near pigs.

A probationary dismissal normally needs no reason, but it may not be based on a prohibited ground. The court found direct discrimination on grounds of religion, which the employer had not rebutted. It awarded compensation for the irregular termination (gefixeerde schadevergoeding), the transition payment (transitievergoeding) and fair compensation (billijke vergoeding) of EUR 15,000 gross.

A prayer takes a few minutes and can often fit into an existing break. The questions a court puts to the employer are practical: was an unused meeting room available, could break times move by a quarter of an hour, and did colleagues get the same flexibility for a school run or a physiotherapy appointment? Records made at the time carry weight; notes drawn up after a lawyer’s letter carry little.

No employer must build or permanently designate a prayer room. But if a suitable room stands empty and the request is still refused, the refusal starts to look like a decision about the employee’s religion, and that shifts the burden of proof under Article 10 AWGB.

Can you change your working hours during Ramadan?

Yes, you can ask. Under Article 2 Wfw your employer must grant a request to change working hours or times unless serious business or service interests (zwaarwegende bedrijfs- of dienstbelangen) stand in the way.

An employee who fasts may, for example, ask to start and finish earlier, shorten the lunch break or swap shifts. The conditions are:

• you have been employed for at least 26 weeks on the intended start date;
• you make the request in writing at least two months in advance;
• your employer has 10 or more employees. Smaller employers fall outside Article 2 Wfw, but must still have an arrangement for flexible working.

The employer must decide in writing and give reasons for a refusal. If it has not decided one month before the intended start date, the change takes effect as requested. Where the reason behind the request is religious, a defective refusal can also be indirect discrimination under the AWGB.

An employer may only change duties of a fasting employee on the basis of a concrete, documented risk assessed for that individual, for instance operating heavy machinery in high summer temperatures. The Working Conditions Act (Arbeidsomstandighedenwet) supports such an individual measure, not a blanket rule for everyone observing Ramadan.

Do you have a right to leave on religious holidays?

No, not beyond the recognised Dutch public holidays. You apply for ordinary holiday leave under Article 7:638 BW, and your employer can only refuse on serious grounds raised in writing within two weeks.

Eid al-Fitr, Yom Kippur, Diwali and Orthodox Christmas are legally ordinary working days. The employer sets your holiday in line with your wishes unless serious reasons (gewichtige redenen) stand in the way. If it does not object in writing within two weeks of your written request, the holiday is fixed as requested.

Consistency matters as much as the leave rules. An employer that routinely allows a long weekend but refuses a single day for a religious festival, with no difference in operational impact, creates the facts an employee needs for a presumption of discrimination. Also check the collective labour agreement (cao): many allow public holidays to be exchanged for days that matter to the individual employee.

Can an employer ban a headscarf, kippah, cross or turban?

Only in a narrow band of situations: genuine safety or hygiene requirements, or a general neutrality policy that meets the CJEU conditions in Achbita and WABE. Customer preference is not a legitimate aim.

Wearing religious dress is protected under Article 9 ECHR and the AWGB. Restrictions can survive where loose fabric comes near moving machinery, where headwear prevents a safety helmet from fitting, or under hygiene rules in food processing and healthcare.

What about refusing to shake hands?

Two Dutch decisions show how much depends on the role and the setting. On 28 October 2025 (ECLI:NL:RBDHA:2025:19487), the subdistrict court of The Hague dealt with an IT service desk employee placed at the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA). On his third working day he declined, on religious grounds, to shake hands with a female team leader, and he was dismissed during his probationary period the next day.

The court presumed discrimination on grounds of religion, which the employer did not rebut; it could not show that shaking hands was necessary for a role that mostly involved remote IT work. The court awarded fair compensation of EUR 34,000 gross plus legal costs.

Compare the Central Appeals Tribunal (Centrale Raad van Beroep, CRvB) decision of 7 May 2009 (ECLI:NL:CRVB:2009:BI2440). A teacher announced that she would not shake hands with male colleagues, and her dismissal was upheld. In that public school, a uniform way of greeting was accepted as appropriate and necessary for respectful conduct in a diverse school community.

Who has to prove what?

Under Article 10 AWGB, you only need to present facts from which discrimination may be presumed. Your employer must then prove that it did not discriminate, or that the measure was objectively justified.

Facts that can support a presumption include a comparable colleague who was treated differently, a complete lack of reasoning, a dismissal shortly after a religious request, and a policy applied to a headscarf but never to a cross. At the second stage, a general appeal to house style or assumed customer preference does not suffice, and documents created after the dispute arose carry little weight.

What does a breach cost an employer?

The subdistrict court (kantonrechter) can annul a discriminatory notice or, if the employee prefers not to return, award fair compensation under Article 7:681 BW. That comes on top of the transition payment under Article 7:673 BW and, where the notice period was not observed, compensation for irregular termination.

Non-material damage can be claimed under Article 6:106 BW where the discrimination has harmed the employee as a person, and a costs order follows. There is no tariff for fair compensation: the court weighs length of service, loss of income, labour-market prospects and how seriously culpable the employer acted. Our article on religious discrimination in the workplace covers the compensation framework in more detail.

What should you check as an employee?

Act quickly and in writing. A request to annul a dismissal or to obtain fair compensation must be filed within two months after the employment contract ended (Article 7:686a(4)(a) BW), and that period cannot be extended.

• Have you made your request (prayer, hours, leave, dress) in writing, and kept the employer’s answer?
• For different working hours: do you meet the 26-week and two-month conditions of Article 2 Wfw?
• Have you filed a written internal complaint? Article 8a AWGB protects you against retaliation for doing so.
• Do you have comparisons: colleagues who were allowed the same flexibility for non-religious reasons?
• Do you want the practice corrected? The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights (College voor de Rechten van de Mens) gives a reasoned, non-binding ruling at no cost.
• Is the matter urgent, such as a suspension or removal from the roster? Then summary proceedings (kort geding, Article 254 of the Code of Civil Procedure, Rv) are an option. Under Articles 194 and following Rv (since 1 January 2025) you can also ask the court to order your employer to disclose specific documents.

What should you check as an employer?

Most disputes in this field are lost on process, not on principle. The burden of proof under Article 10 AWGB makes your records decisive.

• Is your policy on religious expression, prayer facilities, dress and leave written down before a request arrives?
• Do you assess each request individually and record the alternatives you considered at the time?
• Do you treat comparable non-religious requests, such as a school run, in the same way?
• Do you answer a Wfw request in writing before the one-month deadline and an Article 7:638 BW leave request within two weeks?
• Does any refusal of a religious request go to a higher level and come with reasons?
• Is a neutrality rule limited to roles with real public contact? A rule adopted for the service counter cannot simply be extended to the back office.

What can we do for you with religion at work?

Our employment lawyers in Eindhoven and Amsterdam act for both employers and employees.

• We review a refusal, warning or termination letter and assess the discrimination risk under the AWGB.
• We draft or check your policy on religious expression, prayer facilities, dress codes and leave.
• We draft the written internal complaint or the employer’s reasoned answer to a request.
• We file the request with the subdistrict court within the two-month deadline of Article 7:686a BW, or start summary proceedings.
• We prepare a request to the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights and assist at the hearing.

Summary

• Freedom of religion at work is protected by Article 6 of the Constitution, Article 9 ECHR and the AWGB; direct discrimination on grounds of religion cannot be justified.
• A neutral rule that hits one religious group harder is only lawful if it has a legitimate aim and is appropriate and necessary.
• There is no right to a prayer break, prayer room or religious holiday, but every request must be assessed individually and a refusal must be reasoned.
• Requests to change working hours go through the Flexible Working Act; holiday requests through Article 7:638 BW, with a two-week deadline for the employer to object.
• Once you present facts suggesting discrimination, your employer must prove otherwise. After a dismissal you have two months to go to court.

Frequently asked questions